Mary wrote on Dec 19, 2005 8:26 AM:Our children spend exactly half as many hours in the class room as children in Korea and Japan. Universal pre-school is a start, but the reforms need to go much further.

Jeff wrote on Dec 19, 2005 11:23 AM:Love to hear how many of those in San Diego quoted by the study who would benefit from preschool are children of illegal immigrants. Enforce the borders and you will have less kids missing preschool in the US becuase there will be less kids in the US.

Mike wrote on Dec 19, 2005 12:24 PM:How many of those parents that can't afford preschool are driving new cars & talking on cell phones? The parents that really care about their childrens education will make sure they get educated one way or another. Don't tax me because somebody else doesn't want to read to their kid and make sure they stay in school. The fact is that for some of the cultures in our country education is not a priority.

Melodie wrote on Dec 19, 2005 2:14 PM:I am concerned about the claim that many of the students who are currently in special education classes will no longer need to be placed there after being in a pre-school. What this implies is that we are inappropriately placing students in special education classes, overburdening an already exhausted system, and using special ed. classes as a "dumping ground" for difficult students. I wish that an explaination about how the preschool will change all of this had been offered. What secrets do they know?

Linda wrote on Dec 19, 2005 8:02 PM:I agree with Jeff re: the number of illegal alien children or the "anchor baby" birthright children of illegal alien mothers -- if we keep the floodwaters flowing, nothing that we attempt will mitigate. I agree with Mary re: the number of hours in school ..... not only are the raw numbers fewer than many of the nations with whom we compete in the global economy, but the fewer hours are divided between meeting the needs of children who don't speak English, as well as dealing with discipline in each classroom.

Leslie wrote on Jan 20, 2006 11:09 PM:are we talking 4, 3, 2,and 1 year olds.. well why not yank the baby right from the womb...put them in a classroom so they can start failing even sooner...is anyone thinking that maybe children are ready to learn when they are more mature...like ready to listen, pay attention..how will the teachers know when they have A.D.D. or are just being little kids.. and what about the cost...how about putting those millions into the existing classrooms and start offering smaller class sizes with maybe some more interesting courses.. and getting some decent tax advantages for mom or dad so they can be their first teachers...

Ashley wrote on Feb 9, 2006 7:02 PM:Leslie-Starting school earlier has nothing to do with "failing sooner". Pre-school is not generally graded. Mike-Do not stereotype families. I know many people, myself included, that cannot afford to put their children in pre-school. My car is almost 15 years old, and both my husband and I work and go to college to try to improve our situation. I am doing a research paper on this subject, and I am finding a lot of studies that support universal pre-school. Have you done your homework?

Catherine wrote on May 8, 2006 9:47 AM:When most people think of "preschool" they think of young children learning things like spelling, simple math, and reading. Actually the primary focus of preschool is teaching children positive social skills such as conflict resolution (i.e. sharing, taking turns), how to control impulse control, how to listen, how to follow direction. In fact if you ask any primary school teachers what the benefit of preschool, a GOOD preschool education is they will tell you exactly what I stated above. Primary teachers only have so much time and lots of children to teach and unlike the old days they do not have the time to help a five or six year old learn the social skills that will help him/her learn. Hence the phrase "ready to learn". It is a shock to a child who has been kept home to suddenly get dropped off in an environment where he/she is surrounded by 20-25 strangers. Preschool allows children to slowly, lovingly, and compassionatly transition into school life. I am in my late forties and I understand that inasmuch as I am pretty much the last of the baby boomers population numbers dwindle after 1960. There were not enough births in the U.S. What I mean is that you need a certain number in the work force paying taxes and maintaining the infrastructure so that folks like me, and some of you who are close to or are retired can continue to receive benefits. Less people translates into less money for the government. Listen, I'm the first to say I hate how many illegals we have in this area. They bug me. They don't speak English, they live here as if they are entitled to what we or those generations past have fought for, but they ARE here. Yes, they have children, lots of children and those children attend our schools. Unlike children from other nations who may come here for an education and take their new skills back home, generally speaking Mexican illegals are not intersted in ever returning to Mexico. Instead they live here, their children live here, are educated here, and grow up to work here and ... yep do their part to get my retirment funds ready. So they are a necessary evil and I am willing to pay a little more in taxes to make sure they are educated as soon as possible in order to assure their success as productive workers. Ever wonder why there are so few fresh faced all american kids working in fast food joints? There aren't that many around anymore. That's my two cents.

Erin wrote on Mar 24, 2007 8:49 AM:Of course public opinion is a strong influence on our nation's policies, but if you are going to weigh in on issues, at least research them before opening your mouth. As a teacher with a masters degree in early childhood education including triple licensure in regular ed., special ed., and ESOL, I would like to add my knowledge to the discussion, albeit a late entrance. High quality preschool, as defined by this nation, should be characterized by a warm, inviting atmosphere, play-based exploration, socialization opportunities, and it should be as close to the child's natural environment as possible. The univeral preschool initiatives are based on these field-pervasive ideals - not some warped concept of three year olds sitting in desks completing skill-and-drill tasks of rote memorization. It has been proven through pilot programs such as Head Start that high quality programs are of mass benefit to not only individual children and families, but to society at-large. In regard to the comment about special education, YES, the special education system HAS become a "dumping ground" for "difficult students." There are thousands upon thousands of poor and lower-middle class children in the special education system because they were simply not afforded preschool opportunties and fail and comparison to their peers who had such priviledge. Unfortunately, too amny teachers cannot tease apart the differences of opportunity deprevation and true special needs. Universal preschool would reduce the incidence of these children being inappropriately placed in special education because it provides all children with appropriate prepatory opportunities, regardless of income.